People who drive long distances and generally in a hurry like to take a hot beverage such as a cup of coffee with them but often do not have time to make a coffee stop. Furthermore, many coffee drinkers are not prepared to accept the kind of coffee provided at local coffee shops and the like. These people would like to make their own coffee but again, do not have sufficient time.
Some people prefer beverages other than coffee such as soup and the like. Again, it can be awkward finding a place that will provide soup and other types of beverages when one is in a hurry.
Although not widely known, the prior art does disclose single serving beverage packages as shown for example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,272. These types of packages are hooked up to a portable boiler to prepare a hot beverage directly in one's car or other relatively inaccessible area.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,272 water is carried in an upper chamber of the package and separated by a membrane from coffee grinds held in a filter in a lower chamber of the package. The entire package is inserted in a heater which both heats the water in the upper chamber and causes the membrane to give way allowing the water to then drain downwardly into the filter of the lower chamber producing a hot cup of coffee.
There are potential problems associated with the structure in U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,272. In particular the membrane may be subject to premature breakdown before the water has reached a suitably heated temperature in which case the coffee is well below the desired temperature as it drains from the package. Furthermore, when the member separating the upper and lower chambers detaches from its sealing position it could clog and block drainage of the coffee from the package. In addition, the structure in U.S. Pat. No. 3,589,272 is awkward to handle. It requires two hands because the entire package is placed in a heater where the hands are subject to possible burning. Furthermore, the entire package must be made from materials which are not going to break down as a result of being inserted in the heater.